I was having a conversation with Mike Nichols several years ago, and I asked him if he had any connection with Annie 2 (he of course produced the original Annie.) He said, "no, you can't have a sequel to a musical." When I asked why, he explained, "a musical is about the most life changing moment in a person's life, and you can't have two of those."
Count me in as someone else who doesn't get the anger towards this show. I went last night expecting to hate it based on the comments on this board, and found myself loving it.
It's not perfect. I enjoyed the music, but found the rhyming embarrassingly sloppy. Alex's "character" voice can be irritating, although I eventually made peace with it. The set and direction are terrific, and the book is funny and very solidly constructed. Second only to The Prom (a show I
I sometimes ask people, "why isn't there a film of the original production of La Traviata?". They reply, "there wasn't film equipment back then". I then ask, "why isn't there a film of the original cast of My Fair Lady?". They have no answer for that.
There are decades of theater history lost forever because it was illegal to film Broadway shows. I welcome bootlegs. They're preserving history.
A lot of people here feel disrespected if someone doesn't like a show they love. They start calling people haters, and over-analytical. Of course, when THEY hate a show it's a different matter...
There's a recording of it on Amazon, or there used to be. The original Broadway version used live musicians. A recording was made to allow amateur groups to use the Alex North music in their productions for an additional fee. I think it may have been used for the original touring company as well. The sound quality of this is not very good, sadly.
For the Mike Nichols revival, the music was rerecorded and adapted. This version isn't available to my knowledge.<
I worked on this show, and love it as well. I think the reason it hasn't caught on is because there are so many public domain versions of A Christmas Carol, so why pay a royalty when you can do it free? I agree the TV version was wretched.
Has anyone performed Into The Woods as a child? I know there's a children's version, but I've never been able to imagine how elementary students could perform this very difficult score, even if somehow simplified.
I liked both Great Comet and Evan Hansen, but Comet seems a little like old news to garner a lot of excitement when it comes to Broadway. Evan Hansen has a better shot, but it shares with Fun Home a feeling that it really belongs off-Broadway (although Fun Home ended up winning best musical.) But Pasek and Paul have La La Land coming out, so maybe it will seem like their year (and I would love for them to receive a Tony!)
Who knows what will happen? But my feeling is that when Groundho
I haven't seen it, but based on the reviews Groundhog Day is definitely the favorite for Best Musical this year. Yes, I know that big hits in London don't necessarily translate over here (Enron being a good example.) But the reviews weren't just favorable, they were laudatory, with a rave from Brantley. Trust me, their decision to come in this season was terrible news for every other musical opening this season.
I think Daldry is an inspired choice, actually. Two of the most inventive and brilliantly directed shows I've ever seen are The Inspector Calls and Billy Elliot.
